By Jones Anlimah
The Electoral Commission (EC) in the Volta Region has called for an infrastructure facelift at its regional and districts offices in the Volta region, particularly the provision of adequate storage facilities to safeguard electoral materials.
The Acting Volta Regional Director of the EC, Mrs Ernestina Banahene, said the existing infrastructure required improvement to provide secure and suitable storage for electoral materials and other equipment used in the conduct of elections.
She made the call when the Parliamentary Select Committee on Independent Constitutional Bodies visited the Commission’s regional office in Ho as part of its engagement with independent constitutional bodies in the Volta Region.
Mrs Banahene said proper storage was essential to protecting electoral materials and ensuring that they remained in good condition for use when required.
She said the Commission’s operations involved the management of large quantities of electoral materials, making adequate and secure storage facilities an important requirement for effective electoral administration.
The Acting Regional Director said the Commission’s infrastructure needed to be improved to match the demands of its electoral responsibilities.
She also outlined staffing challenges confronting the regional office, saying shortages in some categories of personnel continued to put pressure on existing staff, particularly during periods of intense electoral activity.
The Volta Region has 18 parliamentary constituencies, 444 electoral areas and 2,351 polling stations, with 1,023,916 registered voters as of 2024.
The regional office, which coordinates the Commission’s activities across the region, had a total staff strength of 86, including 18 District Electoral Officers, 17 drivers, 23 security personnel, seven secretaries, seven administrative assistants, four assistant electoral officers and two IT officers.
Mrs Banahene said the Commission nevertheless had shortages in areas including security, driving, secretarial support, labour and supply functions.
“These gaps place additional pressure on existing staff and affect the smooth operation of some offices, especially during periods of intense electoral activities,” she said.
She said the Commission had also encountered challenges in paying temporary election officials because of errors in bank account details submitted during recruitment.
Mrs Banahene said preparations for future electoral activities had already begun, with the Commission’s headquarters requesting stock balances of electoral materials from the region to facilitate planning and the replenishment of supplies.
She said improving the physical infrastructure of the regional office, particularly its storage capacity, would therefore be important to the Commission’s preparedness and the protection of electoral materials.
The Parliamentary Select Committee’s visit forms part of its engagement with independent constitutional bodies in the Volta Region to understand their operations, constitutional mandates and challenges.
